I can remember talking to my predecessor, the late Paddy Downey, about his career recollections and being struck by how far back his contacts reached into the history of Gaelic games.
He was a friend of Christy Ring, who went as far as to visit Downey in the sanatorium where he was recovering from TB – on the morning of an All-Ireland final in which the Cork hurlers were playing.
There was also reminiscence about Jer O’Leary, who had an antiques shop in Killarney where reporters were welcome after matches to drop in and use the telephone to call in their reports.
“Small Jer”, as he was known, was a key figure in the GAA in Kerry, a stalwart of Dr Croke’s and a friend of Dick Fitzgerald, the pioneering footballer who played on the county’s first teams to win the All-Ireland and in whose memory O’Leary spearheaded the committee to
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